the racing world hit by tragedy as this year's indy 500 winner dan wheldon is killed in a fiery accident in las vegas. this morning, his fellow drivers remember a special competitor and friend and also asking tough questions about the safety of their sport. the occupy wall street protests hit the one-month mark today and now reach cities in four continents around the world, but is the message reaching wall street and the washington. we will tell you the next step. a new hampshire woman stuck at the south pole two months after a possible stroke is

finally evacuated. we will bring you the latest on her daring rescue and her medical condition "early" this monday morning, october 17th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs good monday morning to you. i'm erica hill. >> i'm jeff glor. chris wragge is off this morning. i remember speaking to dan wheldon after he won the indy 500 this past may. he was so affable and so energetic. >> so well loved by so many. not just by fans but especially within the racing community as well. a great loss. >> by everybody. gone way too soon. that is where we begin this morning. the sudden tragic death of two-time indy 500 championship dan wheldon happened in the last race of the year. a huge loss for his family and friends and entire racing world. bit whitaker is he is las vegas motor speedway this morning with more. >> reporter: english driver dan

wheldon was called charming full of life. he began sunday's race in the last position, number 34, but he was determined to make a race of it. he never got the chance. it was a fiery wreck in turn number two just minutes after the las vegas 300 began. dan wheldon driving car number 77 went airborne and crashed into a fence. in all, 15 cars were involved in a massive pileup that one driver described as looking like a scene from the "terminator" wheldon air-lifted from the track to a local hospital. a short time later, the announcement. >> dan wheldon was passed away from unsurvivable injury. >> reporter: some had expressed concerns about the high speeds approaching 225 miles per hour and one driver said we all had a bad feeling about this place in particular just because of the high banking and how easy it was to go flat. we knew it could happen.

but it's just really sad. >> dan wheldon is going to win the race! >> reporter: dan wheldon won the sport's most prestigious race the indianapolis 500 for the second time this past may. after the victory, he spoke with "the early show" about his future. >> we want to continue to race in the way that we should. you know, to contend for wins. >> reporter: with wheldon's death, the remainder of sunday's race was canceled. drivers instead completed five laps in tribute. afterwards fellow drivers remembered wheldon. >> we lost a good friend. i think everybody in the indy car series considered dana friend. >> reporter: in 2008 wheldon took cbs news russ mitchell for a ride in an indy car. >> when you're driving one of these indy cars things happen so quickly but you've got to be very patient and not slow to react, but very gentle. >> reporter: dan wheldon blefs behind his wife suzy and two

young sons. he was 33. this indy car's first fatality since 2006 when paul dano was killed in a practice run in miami. jeff? >> bit whilll, thanks. joining us is bruce who witnessed this fatal crash. good morning. >> good morning. >> i know you spoke to dan wheldon before the race. you spoke to him frequently i know. tell us about what kind of guy he was. >> dan wheldon was probably one of the most likeable guys in recent indy car series history. had friends with every other driver in the paddock. he was always up-beat, always smiling and always happy. you know, real playful guy. was a bit of a prankster. i was speaking to some of the drivers last night. scott dixon said his enthusiastic and his happiness was almost infectious.

and that is why the sport has taken his death so hard. he was really -- you know, he was one of the guys. he was one of the people that everybody loved to be around. he had a way of making people feel a lot better just by being around him. >> it does seem like everyone is just stunned by this. bruce, from the folks you talked to before the race yesterday, was there concern about the track? >> there was total concern about everything. not so much the track. the track really didn't do anything wrong as much as it was the style of race cars that you have in the izod indy car series. on a high bank speedway they are able to go flat. that means flat to the floor with the accelerator and by doing that, there was no separation of the field, so you had a pack of 34 cars all racing in one large group. and a lot of the other ovals you have a little bit of separation. they start 33 cars at the indianapolis 500. that a 200 flat oval. a lot of times the cars to separate for the good cars to

get away from the slower cars. here, all of the cars were able to run pretty much the same speed, which created a giant pack. there were times early in the race where they almost went four-wide. remember one thing. the crash started just 11 laps in what was a 200-lap race. it was far too early for something that serious, but everybody kind of expected that there was going to be at least one or two really big crashes in this race. >> bruce, i know that some changes are being made. what other changes need to be made so things like this don't happen again? >> well, frankly, the size of the field, in my opinion, i thought, was far too big for a mile and a half track. a general full field for an izod indy car race on a mile and a half oval is 26 cars. they had 33 cars on sunday and considering the cars were going over 222 miles an hour gives the

drivers basically hardly any time to react when a crash is crashing. what you saw on sunday. as soon as the couple of cars crashed, the cars further back had nowhere to go. they drove into it. >> what does dan wheldon legacy go down as? >> he was a two-time indianapolis 500 winner series championship in 2005. his legacy is going to be how well liked, how well loved he really was by the fans, by his fellow competitors. he was really a tremendous ambassador for the sport of indy car racing. >> bruce martin from "sports illustrated," thank you very much. >> thank you. now here is erica. today marks the one-month anniversary of the "occupy wall street" protests. elizabeth palmer is following the protests overseas for us. we begin here with cbs's bigad shaban in new york's financial district. he has a look at the

demonstrations there and across the u.s. >> reporter: here this morning, protesters right now are talking about what is going to happen next. protesters still sleeping readying for the next day. throughout the movement they say they have raised nearly $300,000 from their website and visitors here at this park. >> occupy wall street! >> occupy wall street! >> reporter: the occupy wall street movement. >> what democracy looks like. >> reporter: now 31 days and counting is tens of thousands of protesters strong. >> occupy the entire world! >> reporter: the chants over the weekend heard across the country. but not without clashes with police. >> this is what it looks like. >> reporter: in chicago about 175 people were arrested saturday after refusing to leave a city park when it closed. 92 were arrested in new york over the weekend. as demonstrators filled times square and surrounded this citibank branch, angry over new

customer fees and the bank's large profits. >> we are the 99%! >> reporter: protesters call themselves the 99%. frustrated over economic equality and what they describe as corporate greed. amid the country's richest one person. >> you'll find people from every background, every walk of life every issue. >> reporter: do you feel like either party is representing you in washington? >> no, i don't. >> reporter: laura and michael ancel from denver are newcomers to the cause and frustrated over the lack of jobs for their children and worried about losing their pensions. what do you hope comes out of all of this? >> i really don't know but glad the american people are standing up not only here but all over the country. >> reporter: some want the protesters to rally around an actual goal, many disagree. one man describes you can't describe a solution until you diagnose all of the problems. >> occupy wall street is now officially a worldwide

phenomenon. protests were held in dozens of countries as elizabeth palmer tells us in london. >> i'm standing in front of st. paul's cathedral which is next to this city's financial district. behind me, there are oh, a few dozen tents and a couple of hundred protesters die-hards camping here and left over from much larger rally all over the weekend. thousands of people marred around the world to march what they call a global day of revolution. their complaints are the same as in the united states. the only place there was real violence was in rome and italy. a group invaded a much larger demonstration and began to burn vehicles and attacked banks and businesses and it took riot police hours to get the city center back under control. things in rome this morning, are peaceful as they are in in london but it looks as if these protesters here are taking a page from the new york occupy

wall street protesters and they are here, it looks like any way, for the long haul. joining us from washington this morning is major garrett who is correspondent for the national journal. nice to have you with us. as we look at this one month in on these protests there seems to have a little bit of a shift among politicians in the way they are reacting to these protests and even embracing them. who, right now, seems to be embracing these protesters and their movement? >> the first thing i would say, it is dangerous for anyone in washington, republican or democrat being to say they were there first. the protesters know they were there first and it appears to be an organic movement. you don't have anything happen in 140 cities without it having organic nature to it. it's difficult for anyone in washington to credibly jump in and wrap its arms around it. having said that democrats are trying to associate themselves with mother-in-law of the

frustration and tap into it as a political lever over 2012 and republicans are keeping their distance, at least so far. >> you mentioned be careful how they align themselves. you don't want to take something for credit you, obviously didn't do. is there also some concern, though, among politicians about embracing the movement in general? are they worried it could backfire? >> politicians are always scared about volatility in american political life and quite clearly there is some proponent of these protests that has an element of volatility to it. entirely i would say they have been peaceful and substantial communication between the protesters and their local police and some exceptions to that. when we hear in london talk in europe about a revolutionary movement. i don't think anyone in america is talking about that. i think they are talking about screams a bit to impassioned metaphor but in a sense of speaking for your own economic

future, seems to be at the core of this and politicians would like to know what they are asking for before they can adequately respond. >> so that desire to have a voice, as you say, there is still that question what exactly the message is and so many different people involved here. where, though, does the movement go from here? one month in clearly some in washington are starting to hear those voices. how do they leverage that? >> well, that's the next big step. the protesters are beginning to understand that, that there is a desire here in washington to have some someone say just tell me what you want and then i'll try to satisfy you, either with a speech or a piece of legislation. well these protesters don't know exactly what they want. some would like foreclosure relief and some would like student debt relief and some would like jobs and some would like end to reduction spending. a wide array of agenda items. i would say based on what i've seen so far it's not a weakness that draws a lot of people together and when you're drawn together you get attention.

leveraging that attention is a big problem for the protesters but washington is beginning to turn its eye wearily to what is happening in the streets. >> major garrett, good to have you here this morning. thank you. >> my pleasure. coming up on 14 minutes past the hour. terrell brown is at the news desk with another check of today's headlines. >> happy monday. good to see you. president obama on a three-day bus tour and some republicans say this is part of the president's re-election campaign. senior white house correspondent bill plante is at the white house this morning with more. >> reporter: you can call this a political two-fer, i think. the president is determined to point out that members of congress who voted against his jobs bill have to pay a price and he is doing this in small town north carolina and virginia, two states that he needs in order to win next year. >> i'm going to travel all over the country over the next few weeks so we can remind congress that that's the most important

thing, because there is still time to create jobs and grow our economy right now. >> reporter: a growing economy is what the president will need to have any hope of winning north carolina which he took by less than a percentage point in 2008. first stop today, asheville regional airport, which president obama says will get a much-needed runway renovation if congress passes the flnks spending infrastructure spending in his job bills. republicans blocked the jobs act last week in the senate. and they called the president's trip today political. >> we want the president to work with us. we want him to stop the campaigning. >> reporter: the white house insists this trip is about the president's job plan not his real estate re-election. still bringing north carolina and virginia into the win column may not be easy. in recent polls president's approval ratizing 42% in north carolina and 45% in virginia.

the argument he'll make is one he previewed at the sunday dedication of the martin luther king jr. memorial. >> as we think about all of the work that we must do rebuilding an economy that can compete on a global stage, fixing our schools so that every child, not just some but every child gets a world class education, and making sure that our health care is accessible and affordable to all. >> the bus stop has been carefully selected. those would be african-americans, white working class people and liberals. >> bill plante at the white house for us, thank you. a new tropical storm could be forming off the coast of florida this morning. forecasters are concerned it could get stronger and then head up the east coast. the latest from cbs news hurricane senate david bernard, chief meteorologist at wfor. good morning to you, david. >> good morning. a stormy night on over south

florida, already flooding rains in key west and parts of miami and also ft. lauderdale. our satellite picture shows the large area of storms over the southeastern gulf of mexico and i think there's a high potential for this to develop into a tropical depression or a tropical storm some time today or maybe tomorrow night. that will spread flooding rains' cross the entire state of florida. looking ahead as we go into the next couple of days a strong cold front is coming in and that is likely to merge with that low and that could bring a huge nor'easter to parts of the east coast by the time we go into wednesday answer thursday. >> we know you'll be keeping an eye it. david bernard, thank you. st. louis cardinals are headed to the world series. mvp david freese slammed a three-run homer in the first. st. louis beats milwaukee 12-6. you know what is next. the cards break out the bubbly. partake in the locker room.

their 18th national league pennant. they will open the world series at home against the texas rangers on wednesday night. still ahead this morning, an american woman's harrowing ordeal forced to travel in extreme conditions from the south pole to get much-needed medical help. >> she just arrived in new zealand. we will have an update coming up. [ man ] i wanted to button my shirt, myself. [ female announcer ] could

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coming up, lady gaga and a marilyn moment with bill clinton. we will take you inside this three-day birthday bash. >> quite a bash to honor the former president for his 65th birthday. the latest on that ahead. when my asthma symptoms returned my doctor prescribed dulera to help prevent them. [ male announcer ] dulera is for patients 12 and older whose asthma is not well controlled on a long-term asthma control medicine like an inhaled corticosteroid. dulera will not replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. dulera helps significantly improve lung function. this was shown over a 6 month clinical study. dulera contains formoterol which increases the risk of death from asthma problems and may increase the risk of hospitalization in children and adolescents. dulera is not for people whose asthma is well controlled with a long-term asthma control medicine, like an inhaled corticosteroid. once your asthma is well controlled your doctor will decide if you can stop dulera and prescribe a different asthma control medicine like an inhaled corticosteroid. do not take dulera more than prescribed. see your doctor

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. it's 7:25. >> >> sharon has your traffic and now tim has your forecast. >> >> we are well above the normal high of 66789 partly sunny, down to 52 #-dz. 72 tomorrow with periods of

clouds and sun with a chance of rain by late tomorrow evening. >> >> for another check on the roads, we send it to sharon. >> this one southbound, 195, another new one on 29 southbound at route 32, watch for an accident, 9th street, another accident in the city on north broadway at east baltimore. 82 southbound, six minutes from middletown to mt. carmel and a 10 minute drive from white march boulevard. there is a look at your speeds on the beltway. in the low 30s. this traffic report is brought to you by -- . back to you, don. >> >> in the news this morning, the search for a missing montgomery county 11-year-old

is still missing as his stepfather goes before the judge. andrea is live with the story. >> reporter: the 11-year-old has not been seen for weeks. his 51-year-old mother, jane, found beaten and stabbed to death in their germantown home last week. the boy's stepfather was arrested in north carolina and charged with the murder. police say they had information leading hem to the park. but their search yesterday turned up nothing. >> >> a woman's body has been pulled from trash. police stay the remains were in a dumpster. there are no current signs of foul play, but the police are not sure how that woman died. >> >> elsewhere in the city, a violent weekend with three murders the latest, the shooting of 21-year-old marquis

jones. right now, no word on the arrest of anyone involved with the murder. >> >> the funeral of pat model who died last week after a long illness. she was 80

♪ ♪ welcome back to "the early show." half past the hour now. i'm erica hill along with jeff glor. ahead if you travel a lot, specifically flying and you're a member of different mileage programs because you don't want to miss out on the miles no matter which airline you fly on keeping track of them can be a pain at sometimes. >> using them can be a pain! >> more travelers are turning to websites that take basically all of your mileage and loyalty programs and put them in one place you can see them and keep track of them and now when they

are going to expire and not sitting well with some airlines. a couple of big airlines are trying to put a stop to these sites. why? we will take a look what is at stake and what is at stake specifically for you. >> trying to make more in fees? >> whoever ever do that? why would you say an airline is trying to make money in fees? like they were going to charge for you a blanket or something. a hollywood ending for bill clinton's president celebration. he turned 65 in august and had an event in hollywood. lady gaga a marilyn monroe moment. we will more on that in a few minutes on "the early show." we have been reporting on a new hampshire woman in the south pole in need of serious medical treatment. she was trapped there and trying to get out for weeks. a few hours ago, she did manage to reach safety in new zealand. cbs news correspondent michelle miller has the story. >> reporter: stuck at the bottom of the earth for months, renee-nicole douceur's fight to

get out of the north pole is over. the 58-year-old station margin from seabrook, new hampshire, requested an emergency evacuation out of antarctica. her lawyers send a letter to her contractor telling raytheon the following. raytheon denied her request denying her future was in danger. this video was taken in september. summer in antarctica. when douceua made a request in september, conditions were the worse. the end of winter and no daylight and subzero temperatures and chaotic winds make flying a plane practically impossible. douceur's story is similar to that of another south pole worker. more than a decade ago, dr.

jerry nielsen developed breast cancer and forced to treat herself for months until a rescue plane could force her out. that evacuation also happened in october in 1999. douceur was flown to christ church, new zealand, the closest medical facility. joining is eric niiler. good morning. >> good morning, jeff. >> we spoke over the weekend' we got good news with her arriving in new zealand. what are the biggest challenges now? >> really just stabilizing her. really finding out what happened to renee-nicole. did she really have a stroke? was there damage that, you know is irrepairable. and then also thinking down the road is this going to be a new operating procedure that when folks get sick or so forth that they are brought home? i think that is the bigger

question here. >> reporter: let's talk about that, because, as you know it became a very nasty fight with her, with her accusing her employers here of not caring about her physical well-being about caring more about money. they went back and forth on that. the company said it was too dangerous to go in. why did this become such a bitter fight? >> well, it's interesting. in the previous evacuations, the medicine medevacs they wanted to say and the first time you had someone fighting to get out and fighting to get home. there is sort of a code and a belief among a lot of the poleys as they are known, you signed up for this and that is how it's going to be until the first cargo plane starts arriving when the winter ends. so i don't know. i think there has been a lot of tension. this is a place where you're spending six months in close

quarters with a small group of people. it's almost like being on a spaceship. no way off, no way home and something has changed here. >> is there a way you can think of to prevent this in the future? these sort of fights i'm talking about. >> right. that's an interesting question. i think folks are selected for a lot of reasons to go to the pole. they are selected for their skills. there is also some psychological training too about the kinds of amazing hardships, the solitude that you're going to face. the fact that you are going to have to deal with a small group of people. the little slights that can grow into huge things leaving the dishes uncleaned or changing the way, you know, the color of a bar, something like this. i mean, there are all kinds of little things that can get out of control in a tight, close environment. i guess the only thing that could change would be more screening or so forth. >> eric it's been a pleasure to

talk with you throughout. we appreciate your time this morning and we got some good news that renee is out. eric, thanks once again. >> you're welcome. terrell brown is standing by with a look at the other headlines we are following. somber day in the indy racing world. veteran race car drivers say they don't remember anything like the multicar crash that killed indianapolis 500 winner dan wheldon. wheldon was driving car number 77 at the las vegas motor speedway yesterday. just two minutes into the race he hit a fiery 15-car pileup and flew into the air and slammed into a retaining wall. dan wheldon, the two-time indy winner, was 33 years old. there was a six-alarm fire in an apartment building in boston this morning. police say a man tried to blow up his own home. firefighters had to rescue some residents trapped including a 6-year-old boy. a dozen people were injured. the suspect has been arrested and charged with arson and attempted murder. under pressure from the fcc,

wireless phone providers are announcing today that they will phase in bill alerts for customers. regulators say 1 in 6 mobile phone users have experienced bill shock. those are unexpected charges for exceeding their voice, text and data limits. under the new plan carriers will send automatic alerts to customers who near their month limi outside our window, very clear. temperatures 60 degrees. pretty mild early on. daytime high with partly sunny skies to about 75 degrees. a pretty mild day, considering the normal high is 66. partly cloudy tonight, very comfortable. 52 degrees heading into tuesday, look for periods of clouds and sun, 72 degrees the daytime high expect for clouds to increase overnight and a chance up next it sounds like a great idea. web sites that help frequent flyers manage their miles.

>> yeah. because you then can use them and won't let them expire. why do some airlines want to shut some of those sites down? you'll hear about it coming up.

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you may have have seen some of these travel web sites that help busy travelers keep track of their frequent flyer miles and hotel points and have become increasingly popular. >> two major airlines are trying to put some of those sites out of bounds. regina lewis is here. >> airlines have operated miles programs successful for 30 years. they didn't expect people would say and hand over their passwords, watch these miles for me. they say that poses a security risk. not on the planes but on the actual website and it taxes the system. in technology terms to do that i have to win the website and scrape the data. jeff, you could be checking your miles and erica is trying to buy a ticket. the website may be slower. the website say get over it.

the people on the should know what they are worth and we are getting people hungry for miles. >> how much of money are we talking about? >> a lot. also control is at stake. you want to control the customer relationship. now somebody is in between. if i go to one of these web sites i'm not going to the airline website. and all of the upsell that usually comes with that. >> what is the reasoning be? walk through the web sites and why we want to go there. i'm leery about handing over personal information to yet another website. >> they work generally the same way and we have the list and link to them on cbsnews.com. they will track your miles for you you and alert you when they are going to expire. 20% of miles go unused so that slefg things on the table. third, they change your purchasing decision because now when i go to pick a flight, it will say okay here is what

that flight costs but wait a second you have miles you can use. you want to pick this one over that one or you have miles to cover half of it and it influences my purchasing decision by factoring the miles into the cost. >> so you look at specific flights on the same day and say you can get a better deal on this one. >> correct. the flight without miles could be different than the one you pick using your miles. >> i think people should feel reasonably safe. miles are money and they are currency. the way this works is the average coach ticket is about $350. if you divide that by 25,000 miles, 1.4 cents. can you use your miles on other things, upgrades hotels digital cameras, merchandise. do the math and divide by the number of miles. when you dip below a penny you're devaluing your own currency. if you're new at these before you use the web sites stick with one airline and milk it for

all it's worth and usually the fastest way to the finish line. >> regina lewis, thanks. hollywood goes gaga over former president clinton. a glitzy birthday bash. but a serious side to it as well. tell you about it coming up. ♪ ♪ ♪ introducing hershey's air delight. experience new light and airy, melty bubbles. made from pure, delicious hershey's milk chocolate. new hershey's air delight.

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and you may be living with chronic migraine. but knowing that this thing you're going through has a name, means knowing you can find treatments that are right for you. go to mychronicmigraine.com to find a headache specialist. and don't live a maybe life. party almost set for a king or at the very least, a former president, right? some of hollywood's biggest names helping bill clinton to celebrate his 65th birthday. >> it marked the tenth anniversary of his foundation. hattie kauffman has more on the big occasion including a flashback to another presidential birthday party. >> i just thought we all would get caught up in a little bill romance. >> reporter: lady gaga headline the celebration for bill clinton's 65th birthday at the hollywood bowl saturday. ♪ i want your love ♪

>> reporter: joined by the likes of stevie wonder. ♪ for once in my life i have someone who needs me ♪ >> reporter: and usher. ♪ ♪ snowe. >> reporter: but it was clear clinton was the night's real rock star. >> how cool is it to be 65 and you get lady gaga? come on. and then i wondered, you know, she always kind of goes off the edge. she said she was going to have a marilyn moment and i thought, my god, i get lady gaga and i will have a heart attack celebrating my 65th birthday. >> reporter: part birthday bark and part fund-raiser. it was hosted by the clinton foundation which works on global issues. >> i think it's very honorable he chose to do that instead of going on a long fantastic vacation. ♪ you don't have to carry that ♪ >> reporter: access came at a price.

$50 for concert nose bleed seats, a hundred thousand dollars for a vip reception and a cool million for a round of golf with the ex-president. >> he is the only person i can think of that can put together the most influential people in business and the nonprofit world and in government and force them to get in rooms, brainstorm and come up with resolutions for the world's problems. ♪ >> reporter: ten years after leaving office it seems the clintons love affair with hollywood is still going strong. hattie kauffman, cbs news, los angeles. >> quite a gathering for that concert. >> i would say so. >> a good show. >> what a three-day birthday celebration. >> let's do it for your next birthday. >> and yours took. they are both in july. there we go. >> month long july 2012 birthday month. >> stand by for details on twitter and facebook. still ahead on "the early show," much more to come on the news of the day. we will also look at how people

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sharon has traffic of meteorologist tim williams forecast. >> >> the temperatures are going to hold tight pretty much. we are still right around 60 degrees. 75 degrees is where we'll top out, today, partly sunny, very mild. overnight lows, 52 with partly cloudy conditions. then tomorrow up around 72 degrees periods of clouds and sun and rain by late in the

evening. now for another check of the roads. sharon has traffic control. >> >> good morning, everyone, a new accident on the beltway, on the inner loop, on the ramp to southbound 95. watch for a wreck at 195. another one. southbound at 32. another one nearby on west rogers. one more on the city on north broadway, east baltimore. 83 southbound. four minutes, middletown -- and 13 minutes on 95. there is a live look outside at the top side of the beltway. delays there and on the west side. these traffic reports are brought to you courtesy of hometown pest control. . don back to you. >> >> in the news this morning. montgomery county woman found murders last week. her son stillmissing.

his stepfather, set to go before the judge. >> reporter: yesterday, williams young friends and teams of police searched woods. his mother, 51-year-old jane, was found beaten and stabbed to death in the germantown home last wednesday night. the boy's stepfather was arrested in north carolina and charged with the murder. police say they had information leading them to the park, but their search turned up nothing. back to you. >> >> suspected drunk driver slammed into a car filled with people and swerves into a nearby home. you can see the aftermath of the crash at the intersection of waltton and frankfurt. the driver was taken into custody. despite all of the damage, no one was hurt. the homeowner said this is the second time someone has smashed into his home. >> >> why you may want to buy a cup of coffee before prices go sky high.

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♪ welcome back to "the early show." top of the hour here on a monday morning. i'm erica hill along with jeff glor. chris hats the morning off. >> good morning. >> earlier we sold you about a south pole researchers from new hampshire. she was flown to new zealand after a possible stroke she may have suffered back in august. excuse me, i need a little water. >> earlier, we spoke with renee-nicole douceur.

she just got to the hospital in new zealand. >> thank you for joining us on the phone. how are you feeling? >> feeling great and waiting for my diagnostic testing and it's a quarter to 1:00 in the morning right now. find out what has happened and where do we go from there. >> renee, were you still experiencing symptoms when you were on the plane ride over? >> yes. i still experience the same symptoms i had at the pole which were vision impairment and sometimes difficulty with my speech, as well as what i always call the scrambled satellite signal where you have -- see, i have a tough time talking. missing pixels or whatever. i basically was on a sedative to kind of take the chill out and on the c-17 once i arrived and finally got off to christ church, i was told they had a

special bed for me and i just totally slept the entire flight. >> renee, as you know this became a very sort of a bitter public battle. are you surprised at how far it went? >> i am surprised at how far it went. i had thought originally that, you know, the company and the national foundation would have basically taken care of any individual and not make hastily decisions even while i was in the clinic with brain swelling however, i totally do understand about the lowgisticslogistics. i wouldever have an air crew come in to rescue my life it if it would put them at danger. it's basically why isn't the company and the national science foundation following their own policies and procedures and the resources and put them in place when the doctor is saying she needs to get out of here right away. >> renee, to that point, you said you never wanted to put anybody's life in danger.

raytheon said to us safety is involved with the people taking those flights. do you feel there had been another window weather wise where you think it would have been safe for them to come in? >> oh, absolutely because what they have done is there were windows that have been opened up, but because they didn't bring the planes down from canada and just waited until the very last point where they just had regular scheduled windows -- i mean, regular scheduled flights, that i was not afforded the opportunity to get quicker treatment and rehabilitation services. >> so, renee, what is next for you now? >> what is next for me is today is diagnostic testing, mri and what other testizing going to be done. those images will be sent to the university of texas medical branch folks, as well as the johns hopkins hospital so the consultants can take a look at

it and make a determination of what has happened and whether it's safe enough for me to now take the next journey across the pacific ocean and eventually get across the u.s. to johns hopkins. >> renee, appreciate you taking the time and best of luck and keep us posted. >> i will. thank you very much. bye-bye. >> in other news the "occupy wall street" is one-month-old morning. followers around the world had a busy week of protest to decide what is next. cbs news correspondent elizabeth palmer has more this morning from london. good morning again. >> reporter: good morning again. i'm standing in front of st. paul's cathedral next to the city's financial district. and behind me you may be able to see there are several dozen tents and 200 to 300 protesters who are die-hards left over from much larger rallies over the weekend. not only in london but all across europe and around the world and all drawing inspiration from the protest

movement that started in the united states. it is the "occupant wall street" movement in new york that got the ball rolling. this protest is a month old today' still going strong. in fact, the protesters say they have $300,000 of donations in the bank and plenty of supplies. over the weekend demonstrators turned out in the thousands in cities across the united states and all angry with bank bonuses and bailouts and high unemployment and lack of corporate accountability. in chicago 175 people were arrested and most were later charged with misdemeanors. overall, in the u.s. and across the atlantic in europe the protests were peaceful but in italy, things got violent when a small, hard-core group of radicals infiltrated and orderly demonstration and burned cars and smashed up banks and businesses in rome in london over the weekend, julian assange

joined the demonstrators. >> i've always wanted to say. >> i've always wanted to say. >> we are all individuals. >> we are all individuals. >> reporter: later, assange was detained for refusing to remove a face mask but he was let go 15 minutes late. it seems so far anyway that the british police are determined to keep this protest peaceful. at the moment, the protesters in the u.s. and those here in london haven't articulated a list of concrete demands that would convince them to go home. erica? >> elizabeth palmer in london this morning, thanks. what is driving these protests, especially here in the u.s.? >> "time" magazine columnist joe klein took a trip from texas to iowa and asking middle class americans what are on their minds. his story is in the cover of "time" this week. "the silent majority." encourage you to check it out if you get a chance. joe, good morning.

>> good morning. >> a couple of numbers from a recent "time" poll. 81% of americans believe america is on the wrong track and intrigued i was in this one in your article. 9% you call it a staggering wonderfully 89% of politicians should compromise on major issues like the deficit rather than take a hard line. how is it that this great big middle gets lost sometimes? >> it's us. it's our fault. when i talked to average americans out there they have mixed feelings about the tea party. they don't agree with the tea party politics for the most part, only 11% in that same poll identified themselves as tea party supporters, but they admire the fact that the tea party was able to build a large enough megaphone to influence the debate in washington and they feel we don't have any influence at all. >> you had "occupy wall street" was reeling in its early stages. >> yes. >> as you were wrapping up your

trip. was anybody talking about it at that particular time? >> no. there are strong feelings about it. people were talking about the fact that the shenanigans on wall street is what caused their home values to plummet. and so the feelings are very strong about that. >> what do you make of "occupy wall street" so far? >> well, i think that the substance of it touches a chord that people feel out in the country. >> with these folks that you were talking to? >> yes, yes. but the big question is the style of it. if they are going to, you know, get themselves arrested or do violent things or make a spectacle of themselves right now, a lot of people approve of this movement and those numbers are going to change dramatically. >> something else that stuck out in the article, you spoke with some people who said they feel

people just aren't work as hard as maybe their parents did 60 years ago. i think one woman said so many ups, we don't know how to handle the downs any more. >> right. >> so you get that. so many people are saying that, but how does that translate on a larger scale? do we have to reset our thinking as a country? >> yeah, we do. we have had this incredible period of peace and prosperity historic in the history of the world, and i think during that time we lost the habits of citizenship and we also felt that good things were just going to come to us by entitlement. the fact is that -- really amazing thing on this trip is how interspeculative people are becoming saying what is it about our country that is causing this decline? 71% of the people in the country think that america is in a long-term decline. >> scary stuff. >> very un-american. >> it is. >> the article is quite american. gerns if you

again, if you get a chance to check it out, do so. joe, nice to have you joining us. >> thank you. terrell brown is at the news desk with more headlines. dan wheldon being remembered this morning. he was one of the most popular drivers on the racing circuit. wheldon was killed yesterday in a fiery 15-car pileup in las vegas. wheldon was moving up from the rear when he flew over another car and slammed into a retaining wall. earlier bruce martin who was covering the race for "sports illustrated," told jeff the problem was the cars were bunched together. >> the style of race cars that you have in the izod indy car series on a high bank speedway they are able to go flat. that means flat to the floor with the accelerator. by doing that there was no separation of the field, so you had a pack of 34 cars all racing in one large group. >> three other drivers were injured but not seriously. dan wheldon was 33 years old. government's fast and

furious making headlines again this morning. this time there are questions about the murder of a u.s. border patrol agent who was connected to the program that sent guns from the u.s. to mexico. cbs news investigative correspondent sharyl attkisson is in washington with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this morning the head of the house oversight committee darrell issa plans to send a letter to the fbi this week, to ask about apparent discrepancies of an investigation of a murder related to fast and furious. the murder is that of border patrol agent brian terry who was gunned down near the border last december and at least two assault rifles from atf's fast and furious case were found at the scene. that focused blame on the controversial operation that monitored suspects who track the weapons instead of arresting them and seizing the guns. ten months after the murder there are questions about how many weapons the fbi recovered at the scene and other key details. on sunday's "face the nation," republican darrell issa told bob

schieffer there is reason to ask whether is there a third missing weapon. >> when agents were at brian ter ai terry's funeral making statements there was a third weapon you question there were a third weapon at the scene and did people escape with weapons. >> reporter: a ballistics report turned over to congress mentions two rifles saying it could not be determined if one of them fired the bullet that killed terry and there is talk of a third weapon called ska rifle in secret recordings obtained by cbs news. the lead atf case agent on fast and furious is speaking to a gun dealer who cooperated in selling weapons to suspects. >> there are three weapons. >> i know that. three weapons. >> yes serial numbers to all three. two came from the store. >> i understand that. yeah. >> there is an sks i don't think -- came from texas or something. >> reporter: the fbi wouldn't comment but replied in the past there was no third gun. . issa is saying he is seeking

clarity and until questions about be answered a fueled investigation. the fbi has kept everything about terry's murder secret and saying anything revealed would jeopardize the investigation. announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by starbucks via ready brew. look for it where you buy groceries and starbucks stores.

up next, going to the gym can bulk unfortunate your body but how about your brain? >> it's all about the mind jeff. combining mind and body work that may actually help you keep your memory longer. we will show you how on "the early show." cks via® is planted the same... ♪ ♪ ...harvested the same... ♪ ♪ ...and roasted the same as our other premium coffees. ♪ ♪ it only makes sense it would taste the same. so try it for yourself. buy a pack of 100% natural starbucks via® ready brew. we promise you'll love it or we'll send you a bag of starbucks coffee. it's the starbucks via® taste promise. look for it at starbucks stores and where you buy groceries. i wish you guys had layaway -- well... 'cause i could pay a little at a time... but actually we do -- and my kids would be like "awesome, mom!" oh! i did not see that. [ male announcer ] layaway's back for christmas in our toys, electronics and jewelry departments. my doctor told me calcium is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. citracal slow release...

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one of their days. ♪ ♪ prudential. bring your challenges. ♪ in this morning's "healthwatch," brain gyms. a growing number of facilities are combining physical and mental exercises for some of their older clients. >> cbs bigad shaban reports the goal is to heldold off the disease like alzheimer's. >> reporter: at 90 years old, it's a daily struggle for albert to stay active physically and mentally. >> we need to be careful using this. >> reporter: some studies say both are necessary to slow progression of the alzheimer's he was diagnosed with three years ago. >> we can't reverse anything that is already there but we can definitely slow it down. all the way to the end. >> reporter: in august physical therapist mateo martinez opened

mind and mobility. >> and ten. great job. >> reporter: a ft. laueds detail gym that offers physical exercise usually covered by insurance and mental exercise the cost of $19 per session. do you think it's helping your ability to remember things? >> yes i think so. it's fun, you know? i enjoy it. >> reporter: martinez believes his dual program which includes memory quizzes and puzzles. >> the mind is a large component of mobility. it's that willpower of to do something and for a lot of individuals that are in that geriatric population. >> reporter: nifty after fifty has a dozens locations in southern california alone. >> it challenges your brain a lot and it makes you think, pay

attention, focus. like any kind of exercise physical or mental if you don't use it it's out of shape, so it's just is important as doing the physical. >> reporter: with nearly 5.5 million dikeagnoses with alzheimer's, the study could have an appeal. dr. loewenstein wonder studies of the effectiveness of mind body workout are still preliminary. >> my concern is that we go slowly. it's cited about the research that is coming out, but i think we have to be very cautious as to how we sell it. >> reporter: albert's wife ina isn't willing to wait. >> i can only see that it can help a person. it certainly won't do any harm but there is certainly room for improvement, even if it's a small amount of improvement, it's better than nothing. >> reporter: so twice a week, albert works on his brain and braun. >> turn your hands.

>> and hopes his memory keeps as sharp as his wits. >> don't forget to send a thousand copies to my friends and family. >> dr. loewenstein says knitting and dancing can also help keep the brain active. robert downey jr. is telling hollywood it's time to forgive. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. . we will debate that coming up. announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by sponsored by osteobiflex. helps improve joint comfort in just seven days. osteo bi-flex has really helped my knees. osteo bi-flex has been incredible for me, and i swear by it. [ male announcer ] osteo bi-flex, the glucosamine chondroitin suppment with 5-loxin advanced. shows improvement in joint comfort within 7 days. osteo bi-flex my knees thank you. [ male announcer ] osteo bi-flex. the #1 doctor and pharmacist recommended brand.

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when i got it it's just "wow." [ male announcer ] get our best price online. visit verizon.com/greatprice. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006 tty/v. [ mrs. connally ] you can't take my fios away. [ male announcer ] fios. a network ahead. if you are heading to the eastern shore, you are heading to the light. you got lots of clouds. looks like it could rain at any moment. good morning, a weak front trying to push in responsible for the clouds. a good bit of sunshine through the afternoon. a bit of a mixed bag. but the temperature will be nice. partly sunny today. 75 degrees, mild, comfortable tonight, 52. the low is 46. 72 tomorrow. periods of clouds and sun with rain tomorrow in to wednesday. another check of the roads, back over to sharon gibala.

good morning, if you are about to head out. a few accidents, plenty of delays. one 95 southbound at white marsh. watch for delays south in to 895. new accident in owens mills at south dolesville, a lane blockage there. jfx7 minutes from the beltway to northern parkway. there is a look at your speeds in the 30s on the top of the west side. outside, looking a little bit better than it was a little bit earlier. bills carpet, bills has it all for you. looking for missing 11 year old, police say they have republican to scour two parks over the weekend. the search turned up nothing. >> reporter: william hasn't been seen in weeks.

teens and police and friends searched the woods in the recreational park in montgomery county following a lead. his mother was found beaten and stabbed to death in their german town home. the step father was arrested in north carolina and charged with the murder. police say they had information leading them to the park but the search turned up nothing. montgomery man accused in a disappearance of a fed rick woman is going before a judge today. his attorneys are asking he be released. he has been held since august when she went missing. he claims she disappeared when they went snorkeling. investigate gays after three people are stabbed outside a restaurant on wise avenue. all three were taken to the medical center and listed in serious condition.

no arrests have been made. stay with wjz 13, maryland's news station, up next, a hollywood star come to the defense of mel gibson and a former indy car driver speaks out about the dangers of racing

♪ welcome back to "the early show." i'm jeff glor along with yil.erica hill. chris wragge is off this morning. is it time to forgive mel

gibson? his hollywood career went in a full meltdown after a anti-semitic rant are police. >> over the weekend his good friend robert downey jr. stood up and said it is time to let gibson work again. downey knows a thing or two about making mistakes and then getting back up on your feet in the movie business. we will take a look and see if hollywood is ready to give mel gibson a second chance. first, here this morning, more on the tragic death of indy car driver dan wheldon yesterday. this morning, the racing world is mourning the man who won two indy 500s and who was pretty much universally regarded as a great guy and cheerleader for the sport. cbs news bit whil customer has more. >> reporter: in may he was on top of the world having won his second indianapolis 500. on sunday, indy car driver dan wheldon was killed in a fiery

wreck involving 15 cars at the las vegas 300. out of control, wheldon's number 77 car went airborne and crashed into a fence. drivers described it as one of the worst wrecks they had ever seen. he was air-lifted from the track to a local hospital. >> dan wheldon was passed away from unsurvivable injury. >> reporter: the remainder of sunday's race was canceled. in a tribute to wheldon, drivers made five laps around the track. >> a little bit of everybody in indy car racing died today. >> reporter: after practice runs some drivers had expressed concern about high speeds approaching 225 miles per hour. one driver said we all had a bad feeling about this place in particular just because of the high bank willinging and how easy it was to go flat. we knew it could happen but it's just really sad. >> dan wheldon is going to win the race! >> reporter: five months ago, daned wheldon won the indy 55.

following the victory, he spoke with "the early show" about his future. >> we want to continue to race in the way that we should. you know, to contend for wins. >> reporter: and in 2008 wheldon took cbs news' russ mitchell in a drive in a indy car. >> when you drive in one of these indy cars things happen so quickly and you have to be patient and not slow to react but very gentle. >> reporter: dan wheldon leaves behind a wife and two young sons. he was 33. bill whitaker cbs news las vegas. joining us is former indy car driver lyn st. james. good morning. >> good morning. >> dan wheldon was very popular not just with the fans but with his fellow drivers. i know you met him a few times. tell us about him. >> well, he was a unique driver that had so many people that liked him. he drove for many teams and so he had crew members and team

owners, you know, that were really almost across the board in the series. so he has been around actually a long time, even though he is a young guy, he is 33 years old. but just somebody that, you know just really touched a lot of people because he had this infectious personality. passionate about racing. worked really hard to get where he got and everybody respected that, and so, you know, he was -- he used to give everybody a little bit of a poke every once in a while too so he got everybody's attention and was loved by everybody. >> we heard he did like to tease people a little bit. you called this crash the reaction of a perfect storm. what does that mean? >> no one thing that caused it or created it. it was just this multiple number of things that if it had not all come together i don't think it would not have had that result. i've heard some of the other comments buf got one and a half mile track with 34 cars on it which we run 33 at indy but we also run that at two and a half mile track. las vegas is very wide track.

and that has high banking, 20-degrees of banking in the corners and 9% in the straightaway and 9 degrees is the most banking we have at indy. you have the down force that we have and we have in the izod indy car series and you're able to sustain that speed and build momentum. the fact they run three or four wide and then the domino effect when the track basically got blocked so it was just this multiple of things, you know that came together at one time. >> were there too many drivers in this race? >> i don't think there were too many. you know, i think also that the high focus on the promotion and you take, you know of a $5 million bonus and put somebody who is a capable driver that had to start at the back and he's a hard charging champion. we get in the cars and drive them to the absolute maximum. at those speeds with those number of cars you don't have the time to react, but, at the same time, you know, i think that want additional element i think added to the perfect stermt. >> you have been around this

sport a long time and you've seen a lot of good and bad. how will the racing world remember dan wheldon? >> we will remember dan as a champion. i think the last vision i had was television yesterday when they showed him drinking the milk at the 500, winning that 500 the second time. he had a lot of dreams a lot of vision and a lot of passion for what he wanted to yet to accomplish but at least he was able to accomplish some of those by winning indy twice and winning championships and being the great person that he was. so i've never seen such an outpouring from every level of the sport in such a short amount of time and i think i hope his family appreciates that. it's going to be very hard the grieving of his wife, his parents, his children. i think that is where the real sensitivity is. at least he went out as a championship and able to achieve some of his dreams. not everybody gets to do that. >> a affable guy with as you mentioned, a wife and two kids. lyn st. james, thank you. >> yeah.

>> the kids are 2 and 7 months old. >> so hard to think of that as family. terrell brown is here with another check of other headlines we are following. a sick american engineer stranded at the south pole was evacuated to new zeedaland this morning. she suffered an apparent stroke in august. douceur's request to be flown out was denied because of the weather. >> i had lost half my vision and that was with both eyes and it's come back now but i have difficult reading, talking. i tend to jumble words sometimes. i make up new words. >> douceur said she could have been flown out earlier. she will be in new zealand at least the end of the week. the dedication for martin luther king sr. was dedicated yesterday.

president obama presided over the ceremony. it was delayed because of hurricane irene back in august. >> a black preacher. no official rank or title, who somehow gave voice to our deepest dreams and our most lasting ideals. a man who stirred our conscience and, it will be, helped make our union more perfect. >> the king memorial is located on a sight line between the lincoln and jefferson memorials. a fight night follow-up on dewey bozella. he won his first and only professional fight, fulfilling a personal dream and against a man who was 22 years younger. >> i like to say dreams do happen if you never give up hope and always believe in yourself. don't let nobody ever tell you what you can't do. >> as we told you last week, bozella spent 26 years in prison for a murder he did not commit

and was exonerated. he plans to open up a boxing club now for kids. it's a pretty calm start to the day depending which direction you look. clouds to the north and west, front trying to pass through. not a lot of moisture. 60 degrees average across maryland. daytime high up to today to 75 degrees. look for partly cloudy skies, pretty mild evening tonight as well, down to 52, partly cloudy conditions. tomorrow 72, periods of clouds this morning, a big hollywood star is saying it's time to forgive mel gibson. 15 months after we heard fers gibson on tape making the vicious threats against his ex-girlfriend. >> what kind of a man is that?

what kind of man is that? >> oh, you all angry now! >> you going to get to -- you know what [ bleep ] you will answer one day, boy you going to answer. >> i'll put you to [ bleep ] and [ bleep ] you? you understand that? because i'm capable of that. do you understand that. >> reporter: it was the pinnacle of his public downward spiral which included a july 2006 arrest an infamous anti-semitic rant to police. he is inching slowly into the public eye. his latest movie debuted in may at 36th place in the objection bofs. on friday the actor presented the american cinema tech award to downey who begged the crowd to forgive gibson. downey saying unless you are without sin and if you are you in the wrong bleeping industry and let him work. >> joining us is andy borowitz.

how is this playing monday morning the comments from robert downey jr.? >> i think you have to start with robert downey jr. you can't begrudge someone asking forgiveness for his friend. he is courageous and standing by his friend. look at the history here. mel gibson helped out roblet downey jr. in 2003 no one would hire him and it was mel gibson that put up the insurance bond money so robert downey jr. could work and get his career back on track. >> i think the history with gibson is dealing with two separate things he needs to climb back from. the vicious threats against his ex-wife and also this despicable rant that he went off on the police. which one is more difficult to get over? >> it's a double whammy. you have the anti-semitic comments he made and then the tape. you hear him again and all of a sudden this feeling sort of go up in you again and it's difficult, absolutely difficult. >> ultimately you set it up

there, but if someone is able to forgive in this case it's tough to forget. >> i think it's a -- there is two things that mel gibson has to get over. robert downy jr. was asking hollywood to forgive. we saw that. he also now needs awed yensudiences to forget. they want to be taken away to the character and when you ask them to think about this stuff it's difficult. >> you don't want to feel bad to buy a ticket. you want them to want to spend their money. >> exactly right. >> there seems to be a swell here. robert downey jr. coming to support him and donald trump, for what it's worth. >> getting in the mix. >> he twatedeet the following. first of all that is the first time he saw "braveheart "i?

>> i think that mel gibson's hope is that this helps. like you said, jeff it's another step and that his ultimate hope is that he will eventually get to a place where he can be director producer and star in movies that hollywood will allow him to make and audiences will want to see. >> is there something specific he needs toed to get to that place, or is it simply waiting it out. >> a little bit of both. it's waiting it out and staying low and it's, you know being humble. it's being humbled and acting huvenl and not having huvenl. >> we have to see where it goes next. we are a nation that does like to ultimately forgive. we are forgiving people and there is a lot to forgive here. >> he is working a new movie by the way and for what it's worth, he is relating back to religious waters. >> this is a project he's had in the line for a while actually

believe it or not. this is not an i'm sorry project so to speak but it's only -- there is a script being penned and a long way from making it to the screen. we will have to see what happens. >> he may have competition as i understand it. some people other are trying to make the story. >> another project. we have two snow white projects now and see where it shakes out. >> dalton ross thanks very much. >> absolutely. coffee lovers get ready for a jolt. a group of scientists believes your morning cup might be heading toward extinction. >> that's good news on a monday morning. there is some good news here. that news isn't being welcomed by millions of bleary-eyed folks who depend on the cup of joe every day. >> there is no other coffee like the 100% colombian. >> reporter: try to imagine a world without coffee. for millions of early risers that morning cup of joe is part of a daily ritual.

>> without my morning coffee i would probably be cranky. >> i love my coffee this morning. it makes me happier in the day. >> reporter: but the reality is no laughing matter. on friday, the director of sustainability for starbucks said that climate change is threatening the world's coffee supply telling the "guardian" newspaper what we are seeing as a company as we look 10 to 30 years down the road if conditions continue as they are is a potentially significant risk to our supply chain which is this coffee bean. >> coffee likes narrow range of temperature and one of the hallmarks is increased extremes in temperatures. >> reporter: scientists say climate change will cause heavier rains and longer periods of drought and higher rates of insect infestation. in the tropical areas where coffee is grown and that could have a devastating effect on future coffee production. >> those of you who enjoy our morning coffee, we may not realize the future climate due

to increased temperatures and extreme precipitation could, in some ways, put that at risk. >> reporter: increased carbon emissions have been linked to global climate change. for people waking up without their morning brew could be a wake-up call to lead a more ecofriendly life. >> tara is with us now. >> you're using up the whole coffee supply? thanks a lot. >> guilty as charged. thought of it being around people who haven't had their morning fix. are you both coffee drinkers? >> we both do but i limit myself on a couple of a day. maybe in some ways this could be good for us and wean us off our addictions to the coffee a little bit. >> i'm not sure i could do that. i find it amuseing you're doing it with a straw. >> this is actually water. i cut myself off. >> you don't do the straw with coffee? >> i do. don't tell anybody. >> you do? >> yes, yes, exactly. >> why? >> it's all about the tea.

wait. you were telling us in the break it's not coffee that may be affected? >> yes. chocolate production is also being affected. >> if you it tell me is there a problem with red wine you are out of here! >> not yet but the year 2050 certain areas around the globe will not sustain growing cocoa because of climate change. >> it's serious stuff. >> chicken wing production is down significantly. >> i haven't heard that jeff. >> distressing. >> i don't like chicken wings? >> what? are you serious? >> the only person in america. i think they are gross. >> me too. >>! >> come on! have you had them extra crispy? buffalo style? >> cut it out. >> take you to the dumps. we are going. tara, thanks. up next the funniest writers ever according to andy borowitz who i would say is pretty funny. >> get ready for wings.

andy bore owe witnesses has more than 30 years of making people laugh. on his own website and on twitter these days. >> you are seeing the fresh prince theme song in the break. >> i love it. one of my favorites. >> andy has a new book out celebrating what makes him laugh called "the 50 funniest american wrirs according to andy borowitz, an anthology of humor from mark twain to the onion." the idea came from? >> the library of america. nonprofit select. the money goes to charity which is a cool thing. but i think their attitude was like we are living in really tough times and what is the one thing that makes you feel better forgiving mel gibson? but once you have done that laughter. laughter is really good. we tried to put together really the funniest writers of all time in america and i think we have done it. >> definitely mel gibson did not make your book?

>> he did not, although he has had some hilarious moments. >> that will be your book of moments. >> exactly. >> since these are writers how do you narrow it down? >> obvious choices. you do a book you have to have mark twain in there and i think dave barry and nora ephron and the onion and i love all of those people but also woody allen and some other great people, garrison keeler. it's a great list. it's pretty rock solid. >> i love it. >> you mentioned mark twain first and foremost. what makes him so timeless? >> he is like our shakespeare in a way. i don't want to turn people off because they think shakespeare, it probably won't be too funny. mark twain understands human nature and stuff he wrote a hundred years ago is still cool. i think he could tweet if he were around. a line i like suppose you're an idiot and suppose you're in congress but i repeat myself. i think that could be a tweet

nowadays. i would re-tweet it. he is sort of the exception because he is somebody you can look back a hundred years and he still funny and cool. >> what is the funniest right now? this is a tough time in american history. where do you find the most humor? >> well, i mean, besides michele bachmann, i think that the onion is great. i think that -- i love some of the younger writers like sloan crosley is a woman who has written a couple of books who is hilarious and a guy like larry willmore is money known as the senior black correspondent. the stuff is contemporary' and goes up through the past decade. i think twitter and the internet has brought out a chance for people to say something funny. >> you say you have to be first if you're putting it on a twitter. >> i like to live tweet things and i will live tweet political debates and it is terrible because you're like in this room

with everybody else in america trying to be funny. it's very annoying but it's fun and cool to do. >> "time" magazine said you have the top twitter account in the world? >> well, they had a poll. >> how about that? >> that's true. if you go to twitter and my handle is borowitz report. >> follow it.hey, what are you drinkin'? i'm drinkin' dunkin'. coffee -- black, straight up. extra cream, three sugars. french vanilla. iced coffee for me. iced coffee with a turbo shot. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. i'm drinkin' dunkin'. drinkin' dunkin'. america runs on dunkin' coffee.

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continues to look like rain any minute. unless you are headed to the light in the eastern shore, over the eastern shore. tim has the weather. follow the light. we are looking at some clouds moving through the region as a result of a front that's not really too energy rich. it doesn't have a lot of rain or moisture associated with it. 75 today with partly cloudy skies. by tomorrow night as we get up to 72, we will see a better chance of rain tomorrow in to wednesday, wednesday could be a

washout. search for a missing montgomery county 11 year old, he hasn't been seen for 18 days. last week his mother was found murdered. his father is set to go before a judge. >> reporter: william hasn't been seen in weeks. teens and police and friends searched the woods in demass cusrecreational park following the latest lead in the disappearance. his mother was found beaten and stabbed to death in the german town home wednesday night. the boy's step father, curtis lopez was arrested in north carolina and charged with the murder. police say they had information leading them to the park but their search turned up nothing. back to you. a woman's body has been pulled from the trash downtown. police say the remains were found at a dumpster behind the apartment building on north charles street. detectives say there are no signs of foul flay.

the latest measurer shooting of 22-year-old jones, he was shot in an alley off of aiken street yesterday morning and died at the hospital. no word on any arrest in any of the murder is. man accused in the disappearance of a woman in aruba is scheduled to go before a judge. attorneys are asking he be released. he has been held since august when roar bin guardner went missing. he claims she disappeared when the two went snorkeling. authorities are suspecting foul flay. remembering pat model, it will begin at 11:00 at the basilica. she died after a illness. she was 80 years old.

if your leaves are starting to cover up your lawn, rake them up and put them out for pick up. the service will run monday through the end of january. people living for the city are asked to call 311 to try and schedule a pickup. 20 bags can be put out for one collection. stay with wjz 13, maryland's news station, news and first warning weather today at noon.